Author: ruffjaso

This game recap was written and published shortly after Michigan State upset the No. 5 Fighting Hawks in Grand Forks just after Thanksgiving. I was with family in Michigan at the time of the victory and relayed the story back to my editor upon hearing the news of the upset.

Michigan State only managed three shots on goal in the first period against North Dakota. But two of them found the back of the net.

The Spartans upset the no. 5 Fighting Hawks in Grand Forks on Friday night in their biggest win of the season.

After trailing 1-0 in the first period off of a North Dakota power-play goal, redshirt freshman Jerad Rosburg brought the Spartans back with two goals in the first period, including a power play tally of his own to give State a 2-1 lead after the first period.

In the second period, the Spartans came out flying, outshooting North Dakota 14-6. The Fighting Hawks continued to be hampered by penalties, they took eight over the course of the game, and the Spartans made them pay.

Senior Connor Wood extended the Spartan lead to 3-1 at the 7:34 mark of the second. MSU had several more prime scoring opportunities in the frame, but could not beat North Dakota goaltender Cam Johnson.

Michigan State captain Joe Cox connected on MSU’s second power-play goal of the evening to extend the lead to 4-1 just over two minutes into the third.

Things got interesting when Mason Appleton took a five-minute major penalty for head contact and a ten minute game misconduct. North Dakota negated the power play by taking a tripping call, but UND would not be dissuaded from climbing back.

Freshman Tyson Jost brought the Hawks within one on two goals 31 seconds apart to make it 4-3 with a little over ten minutes to play.

Like the Spartans of antiquity, Ed Minney and Michigan State closed ranks and held off the final onslaught. MSU secured the 4-3 win and Minney made 30 saves to collect his third win of the season.

The 4-3 upset marks the first win against North Dakota since 2008 and the first Spartan win in Grand Forks since 1979. The Spartans are now 4-6-0 on the season, and have won two straight games.

Michigan State will go for the series sweep tomorrow at 8:07 p.m. EST.

Monday was the start of the Crosstown Classic between the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox. I didn’t get a chance to leave to office and do pre-game because a team was already sent. So I spent the day inside logging the game. I asked Mark what the most difficult part of his job was, he said that it was fitting so much information into such a small window of time and then putting your own spin on it. Mark explained that the evening news isn’t the first source for news anymore, so people mostly tune it to hear your take on what they already know. It is up to you to take information that everybody knows and make it unique and memorable to the audience. Wednesday was an uneventful day of logging baseball games. Saturday I went down to cover Bears summer camp in Bourbonnais. While doing so I got a real sense of the “hurry up and wait” aspect of the job as all the media followed each other in a giant pack to a single location and then waited for players and coaches to become available. I also got to drive a golf cart while I was there so that was fun. I had the good fortune to meet Eric (I didn’t get his last name) an associate producer for Fox Sports and an MSU alum. He graduated in 2011 and we talked for a good 20 minutes about the business. He told me he never wanted to be on air because of the pressure of not saying anything that will get you in trouble and that he self admittedly didn’t have “the personality” for it. I told him what I was doing at Michigan State (BTN, Impact Radio etc.) and he complemented me on doing so much saying “the more you can do the better, especially in this business”.

I also met Aldo Perri, senior sports producer at Comcast Sports Network. He and I talked for nearly an hour about high school, college and professional sports. Mostly chatting and swapping stories. He has been in the business for 25 years so he has seen a thing or two. Probably the most interesting thing he told me is that nearly every major story he has seen “something similar has happened before.”

On the way back Mike (the camera man I was accompanying) and I talked about the internship and what I took away from it now that I was approaching the end. He told me that, judging by our interactions, that I was going to go far because of my willingness to listen, learn and adapt when the moment called for it. Mike went even farther by saying that my friendly and down to earth personality would serve me well when dealing with current and future colleagues. It was certainly pleasing the hear from him and I finished my second-to-last week at ABC 7 convinced that I had made a positive impact on a number of people.

Week 12 Aug. 1-7, 2016

Hard to believe this is my last week at ABC 7. Recently I have started to feel a bit more readily accepted by some of the regulars in the newsroom. I myself have grown accustomed to working there. But alas, all good things must come to an end, and this marks the beginning of my last blog post.

Monday started off a bit hectic, as I had to wait 40 minutes outside of Wrigley Field for my pre-game credential to be approved. There was a lot of media there so I think my name was lost or overlooked for some reason. But Larry Snyder took care of it after I called him and explained the situation. At least I got to talk to the window attendants at length about baseball, which was enjoyable. Monday was also the day I said goodbye to producer Jason Smith. I enjoyed working with him, his easygoing but fair nature was something I appreciated and he was a joy to work under.

Wednesday was another day of logging baseball games and getting Cubs post game. I was finally given authorization to ask a specific player (Cubs pitcher Carl Edwards Jr.) a few questions about his season. Unfortunately he slipped out of the locker-room while we were getting quotes from other players. I was disappointed that another chance to interview someone slipped away. It was also my last day seeing anchor Jim Rose. Despite my limited time with him, he has taught me a fair deal. Jim is the type of person that remains humble and approachable despite his near celebrity status in Chicago. I keep thinking back to the Blackhawks convention and how he took pictures and gave autographs with every person who came up to him. He didn’t need to do that but he did it anyway out of respect for the people who watch him.

Friday was a long day, my last day. It was kind of bittersweet. On one hand I am happy to complete my internship but on the other I have grown accustomed to working at ABC 7. Overall I feel this internship was a very positive experience. Through it I made substantial growth in my understanding of both the sports journalism field and about the real world workplace. I feel more confident moving forward with my career then I ever have been.

This week I got to help out with the Blackhawks Convention downtown. My duties mostly included holding the microphone during player interviews and assisting either the cameraman or the talent Jim Rose. This was perhaps the first time I was truly upset with the ban on interns asking questions. One of the Blackhawk players (Duncan Keith) played for a time at Michigan State, and for legendary hockey coach Ron Mason. Mason recently passed away this summer and I really wanted to ask Keith about his time playing for him and how Coach Mason contributed to his growth as a hockey player. I understand that it might not be that relevant to the Chicago market, but it would have been nice to have the audio of Keith talking about a legendary figure in the college hockey community. Perhaps the biggest thing I learned, or rather I was reminded, is that our job as journalists is first and foremost to the people. Rose had a difficult time navigating the convention due to numerous fans swarming him for autographs and pictures. He talked to everyone he could and never spurned a single autograph seeker. Jim is one of those people who, even though he has made it to the top he still remains humble and approachable to his audience. That is a quality I certainly want to embrace moving forward in my career. It was also a nice reminder that we tell stories and we do so for to entertain and inform the people.

I also learned the importance of getting a good cut-away and why it is important. Most stations just get a generic cut away of a coach or something, but getting a memorable cutaway makes the sportscast, and the sportscaster, stand out. This is one of the reasons Mark Giangreco is as successful as he is, because he makes his broadcasts memorable. This is something I will defiantly try to implement in my own career moving forward.

Week 10 July 18-24, 2016

Monday was another average eight-hour day. I logged two baseball games (Cubs and Sox) and helped out with Cubs post-game. A funny incident happened while I was in the clubhouse, while getting set to interview Anthony Rizzo (who had a huge game that afternoon), I got caught out in no man’s land between him and the cameras. I had to crouch down with the microphone so I was not in anybody’s shot! Thankfully my legs didn’t give out during the lengthy interview and we got the sound we needed. Whoever said journalism is a boring gig has no idea!

On Wednesday I got to help cover Cubs manager Joe Maddon’s charity boxing event. I met several people who worked with MLB Network and gained a new appreciation to how much work they actually do. One woman I talked to said that she had been to over 50 baseball games this summer, and this was just after the All Star break! The camera operator I was with was a little confused as to what we should shoot (it was a charity event after all) so I stepped in and recommended shots to her and pointed out people of interest. It was a nice change of pace to kind of direct the shooting of the event.

Saturday was uneventful but for the crazy situation with White Sox pitcher Chris Sale. Reportedly he did not want to wear the throwback uniforms the Sox had so he cut up his and several of his teammates’ uniforms so they couldn’t wear them. As a result he was sent home, but the story gained national attention. It was interesting to see the newsroom take a story that unfolded over time and see the producers and talent look at multiple sources, get several different versions of the story and constantly edit their script to adapt. It was trying at times, one minute we would have an idea of what happened and then new information would be revealed forcing a change to the script. It was very well handled and I gained a better understanding of how to handle a major developing sports story.

On Monday I almost had a chance to conduct an interview with Elena Della Donne, star of the Chicago Sky. I went with a photographer named Kevin to a kids camp Delle Donne was sponsoring, intent on asking her about the camp and about her selection to the US. Olympic women’s basketball team. However we came late and was told by her media rep that we couldn’t talk to her without calling ahead and arranging it. In the end we only got some b-roll of the camp. While I was disappointed that I missed this opportunity, I wasn’t dissuaded, knowing that another opportunity would present itself in the future. I also had an opportunity to talk to Kevin, a veteran of the news business, about his experiences with on-air talents and reporters. He talked about how reporters conduct themselves when dealing with emotionally charged and delicate situations. While talking to Kevin, I realized that many of the lessons that I learned about news reporting at school indeed carried over to the real world. It made me feel somewhat better prepared that I knew how do things the right way and I took pride in the fact that I learned these skills at Michigan State University.

On Wednesday, I went out of the office again to get Sox pre-game I got to see Melky Cabrera’s translator speak to the media. I also got to see White Sox announcer Jason Bennetti walk around and talk. While I did not get to speak to him personally I was amazed how he managed to do his job so well while contending with Cerebral Palsy. He is a perfect example of how the brain is the most important asset to a broadcaster and that all it takes to make it in this business is a good mind and a good personality. Hopefully our paths will cross again so that I may introduce myself.

Saturday was an easy 6-hour day of logging baseball games. I talked with Dionne Miller and set up a potential day to shadow her while doing sideline at a Cubs game next Thursday. I just have to get it approved by Director Larry Snyder and we are good to go. A good end to a good week.

Week 8 July 4-10, 2016

I didn’t work on Monday due to it being 4th of July; my directors were gracious enough to give me the day off. I understand however that when I start in the real world I will probably not have the luxury to take off holidays. Sports never stop. Wednesday was my first official day of this week. Pretty normal by most standards, logged both baseball games and helped out the camera man (Pat Keating) with White Sox pre-game by holding the microphone. It was scorching hot weather at the ballpark and we had to spend most of the time right in the sun to get shots of Sox pitcher Chris Sale (who was selected to the All Star Game) throwing some pitches.

Thursday I got the opportunity to shadow Dionne Miller as she did sideline for a Cubs game. I was impressed by how much research she did before the game and even during the times she was not on air she was taking game notes and listening to the broadcast live. That is something I will defiantly take with me going forward. The game itself was long and drawn out, we had an hour and a half rain delay and played two full extra innings. The game was originally slated to start at 7:10 pm and by the time it ended it was well after midnight. But it is part of the job, and if you are going to do this job well you have to be ready to deal with the long & hard days as well as the easy ones. A big highlight of my shadow was the opportunity I had to meet Len Kasper, play-by-play voice of the Chicago Cubs! We didn’t have much time to chat, but it was nice to meet him and make that connection to a fellow play-by-play broadcaster. I might have been channeling him a little bit while I was sitting along the 3rd base line with Dionne calling the game in my head.

Now at My 5th week at ABC 7, I’ve started to asked more questions about the operations of the individual positions to better understand how they work. I asked Mike Johnson (one of the producers) if it was difficult to condense all of the sports content into a 2-3 minute sports segment. He said that it was different from day-to-day, it all depends on what content was there. But for the most part it was difficult with all the shows he has to produce. Mike explained that most days he has to prioritize what sports get more airtime. This year was a bit easier because, while Chicago had two baseball teams, its hockey and baseball teams had finished their seasons early. But even then, there was plenty of content that had to be cut in order to fit everything in. Mike explained that it all depended on what drew eyes for that day (a successful Cubs team getting a big win for example) and what did not. Above all, you had to localize before you could nationalize. This means that you have to include all of the local stories before you include any of the national ones, unless they are earth-shattering. Deciding what gets in and what gets left out is one of the primary roles of the producer. I also got permission to accompany one of the sports reporters out into the field when they do a stand up. This is important to me because I would like to gain a better understanding of doing sideline at a sporting event because that is a skill I feel I could use some improvement on. There is no date set up yet but I am confident that it will go through, I just have to find a person to shadow.

Week 6 June 20-26, 2016

Wednesday was perhaps my toughest day during my internship and it was during this day that I learned a very tough lesson. No matter how frantic or tense the situation, it is critical to remain calm and keep your cool, even if it is easy to snap. This was one that I took to heart on Wednesday. As I now reach the halfway point of my internship, I realize now that more that anything I am being taught how to live and work in the real world and how to thrive in a top market like Chicago. Thinking about it, I think few college students at 21 years old have real experience on what it is like working in the real world, the nuances, the unwritten rules, the decorum etc. While the technical aspects of this job are important to learn as well, they are near useless if you cannot apply them in the real world. In addition if you don’t know the ins and outs of working in a newsroom you won’t be going very far. I am thankful to be learning this lesson now as opposed to later when it could be costly. When I was back at Michigan State, I was a big fish in a small pond. Now that I am here at ABC 7, I am now a (really) small fish in a very large lake. It is a bit of a culture shock but like I said earlier, I am happy to be experiencing this now.

On another note, some more movement on shadowing one of the sports reporters on a field assignment. After talking to Dionne Miller (one of the reporters) we decided that a Wednesday would be best for me to shadow her. All that remains is to find a suitable date.

I did not work on Monday (Memorial Day) Both Mark and Mike gave me the day off. Wednesday I came in early at 12:00 to log the White Sox game that started at 12:10. It was the third straight day I have come in earlier then the usual start time of 2:00 pm. That being said I do not mind. I do this willingly because I know I have a job to do and I want to fulfill it the to best of my ability, even if that means putting in a few more hours of work. That is the difference between being a professional and being an hourly worker. On Wednesday I worked a 10 hour-long shift. During that time I logged two baseball games, the first half of a women’s basketball game and the overtime period of a hockey game. It was a long, and at times stressful, day but very rewarding by the end of it.

Saturday was a busy day for me. I came in at 1:00 to log the Cubs game. Afterwards I hustled over to Wrigley field to assist with Cubs post-game. Post-game went smoothly, got a few sound bites from some players handled the media ball well and things went off without a hitch. I feel quite comfortable with the “media ball” of microphones surrounding a player. I had an introduction to media balls covering hockey at MSU and while this is on a whole different level, I have yet to have an issue of getting boxed out or getting too close to someone.

After Cubs- post game I traveled back to Soldier Field to help a cameraman with covering a gala event put on by the Chicago Bears. I helped him identify several key members of the Bears front office to get some shots of. It was kind of annoying that the event staff made us leave after only 45 minutes and before most of the players arrived.

Week 4 June 6-June 12, 2016

Monday was just another typical day of logging games and press conferences. I did the Team USA press conference as they prepared for their next game in the Copa America. The baseball game was a Cubs game, which the North-siders won 6-4. I got an opportunity to see first hand how Mark preps for watch segment, going over the package, writing notes, and testing it for time. It made me appreciate how much effort goes in to each minute of airtime on the news.

Wednesday was another standard day. I logged two baseball games, one in the beginning of the day when I first came in, and one in the latter part of the day. Over the course of my almost four weeks at this internship I have noticed that the workplace environment is quite different from what I am used to. Back at Michigan State, I worked at the local WKAR TV and radio station. The environment there was very welcoming and friendly. My contributions were always welcomed and applauded and I was made to feel like an important member by the team from both the talent and the production staff. Here at WLS, it is a bit different. The staff itself is quite friendly with each other but my place is outside of that. I am the intern, plain and simple. It is far more business likes here then I had anticipated. At times my over eagerness to work and contribute sometimes “gets in the way” so to speak. An example is that I reveal a key stat or a good cut away I found during the game. There have been times were I have tried to tell either Mark Giangreco or Mike Johnson the producer and they told me that they were busy at the moment. Where as last year at WKAR in East Lansing, such a remark would be met with an immediate “yes that’s great” or “no we don’t really need that, thanks though”. I’m not saying that my experiences so far during this internship are negative. It is just a new type of environment that I have to adjust to and a balancing act that I must master. I feel that learning to adapt to a different type of workplace environment may be the biggest lesson that I learn from this internship.

I started my first full official day on Tuesday May 17. I met with head sports anchor Mark Giangreco as well as weekday sports producer Larry Snyder. Mark showed me around the station, let me watch several of his sports broadcasts and ran me over my basic duties. These duties included helping out with cameramen in the field and logging games for use in the news broadcasts. Tuesday was my first eight-hour day starting from 2 pm and ending around 10 pm. Early on in the day I accompanied one of the cameramen to record pre-game footage of the White Sox before their game with the Huston Astros. My primary duty was holding the boom mic in the huge forest of other media in order to get good sound. I must admit this experience was not as daunting as some made it out to be. I have had similar experiences covering MSU Hockey in college. If anything this experience was just a bit larger in scale as opposed to what I’m used to in school. After I returned (around 5:00ish) I was asked to logging the Cubs-Brewers game so that the producer could find good highlights for Mark’s sports segment on the 10:00 news. My role in getting the highlights was limited to pen and paper as I was not allowed to touch the editing equipment due to union regulations. At the end of the day I had logged all nine innings of the Cubs game as well as two innings of the White Sox game that was going on concurrently.

Wednesdays more low-key in terms of work load. I was able to see the result of the clips I had logged the night before and learned how they all fit together to form a coherent package. It is mostly up to the performance of the talent as to which clips he wants and how fast he wants the pace of the edits to be. As the evening neared I was tasked with logging both a Chicago Fire soccer game as well as a Cubs baseball game. I was reminded of the importance of name pronunciation as I had trouble pronouncing a name of a runner who had scored a run and had to look it up. One of the producers helped me out with this and I learned to pay extra attention to the name pronunciations while logging games.

Saturday I came in a bit early to log two baseball games. Other than that, the day was very low-key. Thus ended my first week interning at ABC 7. So far the experience has been a positive one and I look forward to the rest of the summer.

Week 2 May 23-May 29, 2016

Monday was in interesting day. My ID card was finally validated and I learned how to log games on the computer using the AP ENPS software. I logged two baseball games, one Sox and one Cubs. During the Sox game, the broadcast cut out twice for an extended period of time. I was unable to log the game and we missed several scoring plays. This actually proved to be a bit of a learning experience as I was able to witness how major stations deal with this crisis. I observed the producer Mike call up one of the ABC affiliates to get another source of the video (it was a 3-run HR by the White Sox). The affiliate station was able to send him a quick bite of the video and we were able to use it on the broadcast. Through this experience I learned that for a major news station, “defeat is unacceptable” you there is always a way to get the story and it is your job to get it no matter the means.

On Wednesday I arrived earlier then the usual 2:00 start time. This was due to both baseball games starting early. I had to log at least one of them so I came in at 12:30 to log the Cubs game. Amount 4:00 Larry Snyder, one of the sports producers, asked me to head down to US Cellular Field and assist the cinematographer with White Sox post-game. I went down to the south side and completed this task. Post game was very similar to pre-game which I did last week. Several interviews with players in the clubhouse while I hold the mic. Today was also the last day for legendary broadcaster Ron Magers. Mark read a loud a text that was sent to him and Ron by my idol Pat Foley (play-by-play broadcaster for the Chicago Blackhawks). The text spoke to Ron’s professionalism and his ability to excel in any role or challenge that was presented to him. This complement impressed upon me just how hard you have to work and excel to separate yourself from the herd. Excelling in any situation is certainly a goal of mine now as I continue forth in my professional life.

Saturday was a quieter day, but I was able to assist one of the cameramen in getting post-game from Wrigley Field. This was a different experience as I rode in one of the camera trucks and got to assist in the set up and take down of the camera before and after Cubs manager Joe Maddon’s post game remarks. It turns out that the staff at Wrigley imposes harsher regulations on the media then the staff at US Cellular Field. Not the least of which is demanding that you park several blocks away from the stadium and walk your equipment to the media area. Thankfully we were well prepared with a portable wagon to transport the heavy camera equipment. It really does pay to be prepared for anything in this business. Had we not been prepared with the wagon, we would have had a miserable time carrying all of that equipment in the hot summer sun.